CCSD 46 Board of Education Meeting: March 18th, 2026

001Okay, everybody. We're going to go ahead and get started for the evening. Welcome to the uh CCSD 46 Board of Education. Pardon me? We can't vote on anything yet. Oh, no, now we do it. Now we do. Okay, we are here at Frederick School uh beginning 6:00 p.m. March 18th, 2026. I need a roll call, please. Mack. Here. Braden. Absent. Nash. Absent. Halverson. Here. Hune. Here. Miller. Here. Weedman. Absent. Okay, we do have a quorum. Please join me for the pledge. Thank you. I need a motion to approve this evening's agenda. So moved. I'll second. Okay. Miller. Aye. Mack. Aye. Halverson. Aye. Hune. Aye. Okay, thank you very much. That brings us to the first section of public comment this evening. Do we have any public comments signed in? Not at this moment. Okay. We

002will move on to board reports this evening. I'll start with Ms. Miller. Ms. Hune. Ms. Halverson. I do not have anything this evening either for a board report cuz it was a slow week. I will hand it over to Dr. Glickman for the superintendent's report. Thank you. Yep, thank you. All right, well, I would like to begin this evening by thanking our fantastic O&M team that really took care of our school district on Monday when we had some significant snow. They did a great job um and we're very grateful to them. Speaking of Monday, I want to talk a little bit about what happened that day because um it was it was really difficult early in the morning. Uh things were really very much on the line as to whether or not it was safe

003to come in to school or not to come into school. As you know, we ultimately decided later than we usually like to to do an e-learning day. Our fabulous staff was ready for that. We let them know the you know, on Friday that it was a possibility, so they were prepared and all the students had their materials at home, so that was great. Um one thing that was a little difficult for us though is that we made that decision when we learned that District 127 was doing a late start for the purpose of making sure that the roads were cleared and it was a safe passage into school. Our school district at this time is not set up to do late starts. We used to be. You may remember that not until not too long

004ago, I think it was just before last year, that was how we did our professional development is we had late starts and so we had a schedule for that. But when we switched to doing our professional development days on um half days, early release half days, we dropped our late start schedule. Now we are questioning um whether or not we would need a late start schedule again. We're not questioning it. We know we need one that would be available to us not for professional development, but for days like Monday. So, our team will be working on um uh behind the scenes things that we need to do to make sure we have a viable late start schedule that we can then work with our um transportation team on and share with families and obviously with

005staff so that if we're in that situation again, that's another option for us. Doesn't mean that that's the option we would always use, but the more options we have to keep people safe on school days the better. So, that's the plan for that. Um and I'm going to hand this over to Jose Zayas, speaking of safety, to share information about a safety conference some of us went to. Good evening, everyone. Um Yeah, so we went to the uh 2026 uh school safety conference over at uh Warren Township High School. Great conference. Um learned a lot. And um it's actually an um I was grateful to be a part of it. A few of us went there. And it's a good place for those of us who are the administrators to uh mingle with others that

006we don't do not normally work with. Like uh other educators. Um uh law enforcement first you know, first responders and the outcome of that is to get a better picture, better ideas, uh learn about new trends that might be out on the horizon that we need to learn about uh so that we are better prepared and also learn different um ways to prepare ourselves um I met with uh Solvi Jarmu who is from another district, also Grace Grace Lake Middle School parent. And um great person. She's at another school district, but full of um the safety knowledge. So, the good thing about these conferences is we can go there and learn from others, which is exactly what I do when you do the networking and um very appreciative to be allowed to be doing this.

007So. Thank you so much. Um and hold on, I have a few more things. One moment. Um I want to mention that last week GMS did their annual St. Baldrick's event. Um board, you may remember that this is an event where we have students and staff and community community members who volunteer to have their hair cut for donation. And there's a lot of people who get um get shaved. Um it's an enormous event. We had 33 staff and students who participated. We had about 15 community members who came in as well for hair donation. In fact, there were 19 hair donations that are now being sent to the Children with Hair Loss um organization in Michigan. They'll use that um that hair to make wigs for children who have lost their their hair due to

008medical issues to receive. Um and they can they can receive those wigs for free. Uh the community really came out to support this effort. We had over 300 raffle prizes. Um and the raffle was obviously a way of making money, of raising money for this event. So, we've been doing this for 11 years. And over the 11 years of hosting this community event, our school district and specifically GMS um has raised over $160,000 over 11 years to support this work. Uh I had some wonderful conversations with some staff members over at GMS about the fact that we were willing to give a lot of instructional time to this event. And the reason that we all agreed that we were willing to do that is that this actually was incredibly instructional. It is a for the

009kids, it is about seeing how they serve other people in a community. And um the energy was high and it was fantastic. I would specifically like to thank Ms. Amy Corey who is the enormous effort behind that project. There are many other people, many of who are sitting here in the room today, who put a lot of time and effort into it, but none of it would happen without Ms. Corey. So, I wanted to share that with you. And finally, as a last part of the superintendent report, I would like to congratulate Dr. Amanda Pelser who successfully defended her dissertation just yesterday. So, we're very excited for you. Dr. Pelser. It's an enormous amount of work. Oh, she's turning red. Sorry. Uh we it's an enormous amount of work. Um I hope you feel that

010it was worth it and we're really excited for you. So, thank you. And that's the end of the superintendent report. Thank you, Dr. Glickman. Congratulations, Dr. Pulsifer. I don't know where they Yes, go ahead. >> I'm so sorry. >> No, go ahead. Also, I think we might have some civics class students here today. Do we have any? A few in the back. All right. So, we're really glad you're here. It's not usually this crowded in this room. We're going to be talking about staffing this evening and staffing is a topic that's very important to the community and very important to our staff, which is our most valuable resource. So, that's why we have so many people here. You're in for a pretty robust meeting and we're glad you're here. Now, I really am done. Yeah.

011>> All right, thank you very much. Okay, that brings us to the consent agenda portion of the agenda. I need a motion to approve the consent agenda, which includes the personnel addendum sent to us earlier today. I move. I'll second. Okay. Huen? I. Halverson? I. Miller? I. Mack? I. Okay, thank you. Consent agenda passes. That brings us to the finance committee portion of the meeting and I would invite Mr. LaCroix and Mr. Gordon to join the board of the table and unless LaCroix is here. Hey, Chris. All right. I'm going to go ahead and Yeah. do a little talking. All right, we've got some more. Do we have enough seats for everybody? All right, we've got more folks coming in. It looks like Jose's pulling in some more chairs. Is that right? If you can.

012All right, we're going to go ahead and keep keep going. Okay. So, we have one topic on our um finance committee meeting tonight and that's staffing. Um and it's appropriate for a finance committee because staffing is the largest area of cost to our school district and so it is a part of what we talk about when we talk about finances in our school district. In a few minutes, Mr. Excuse me, Dr. Woke, also doctor, um will be sharing his report, but I asked him for a few minutes first before he got started on that because um you're we're used to having Dr. Woke give a presentation about staffing. He does it every year. Often that staffing report is just about enrollment changes and those enrollment changes can generate some staffing changes and so that's what

013he typically will talk about. He indeed will be doing that this year, but there is some more um there's some more to talk about this evening because this year we did a very deep dive into our staffing to make sure that our staffing meets our current needs, just our enrollment needs, but other needs as well. And I'm talking about student needs and I'm also talking about financial needs of the school district. So, you're going to be hearing some areas that we are reducing staffing and also some areas where we're eliminating positions. And I have a few things I want to share about that. First of all, and because we have such a full room, board, I I usually just talk to you, but I feel like I want to talk to all of the people

014that are in this room. The decisions that were made and which you shared this evening were made very carefully. >> [snorts] >> Um and very slowly and truly um since September, I would say, we started looking very carefully at every position in the school district. And we were keeping um student needs and welfare at the front of all of the decision-making. People may have heard that there are many school districts in the country, in the state, and very close to us that are doing very deep cuts in their staffing where people are actually not going to have jobs next year. That is not the case here in District 46. That is not the information that we have that we're going to be sharing with you tonight. Um we are going to be eliminating some positions,

015but not actual employees. By this, I mean that um in every case where we are closing down a position, in effect, sunsetting a position because they're all positions that were just that we're going to be talking about. Most of them are positions that were added over the last three few years. Um in every one of those cases, the employees that are in those positions at this time will be offered other positions in our school district. So, we are really glad that we are able to make some changes through attrition. We have retirements and people leaving for other reasons, so we have spots for everybody. Um we're glad to be able to keep our talent within our school district and we commit to helping all of our staff members who need to make changes through those

016transitions in the months ahead. You're also going to hear about some additions because we are adding assistant principals to our four elementary schools. At this time, we have um assistant principals at Frederick and at Park and at GMS, but we recognize the need to also have assistant principals at our four schools that are K4 or pre-K4. Um this too was decided very, very carefully. Like other school districts, we have seen student behavior needs in our younger grades raise dramatically over the past few years. And assistant principals will be able to support those student needs. They'll be able to support our staff with strong professional development, strong instructional leadership, and effective evaluation methods and they're going to be able to guide special education meetings, which will be a need as we talk um talk further about

017some changes that we're making. So, Dr. Woke is going to give some more specific information now if he will be able to to embed himself behind the chairs to get to his microphone. Um unless you want to Do you want to do it from here? That actually might be easier. >> watching that video and I don't want to block video people from being able to see the screen. I'm more than happy to come out there and stand with you, but >> you do it here? So, Dr. Woke is going to share a lot more information, but I wanted you all to hear this information and this background from me first. So, Dr. Woke, I'm handing it over to you. Thank you very much. Yep. Oh, I could have would have been fine. Thank you. Sorry,

018just waiting for the PowerPoint. All right, good evening, everybody. Um and uh welcome. I'll be presenting our 2026-27 enrollment projections and staffing plan for this evening. Um as always, we start our each presentation with our mission. Um and as we go through the presentation, I'll be identifying some of these areas. Um a little bit about the process and how we project student numbers. Um in late January, I began staffing meetings with each of our building administrators and our department heads. What we do is we pull all the data. Um our lovely uh technology team pulls all the information out of tech out of Infinite Campus for us in early January. Um and then we're able to sort through that and advance everybody up. Um the most recent data pull was March 3rd. So, while we

019pull in January, we continue to pull in February, March, and then we'll continue to pull um for the rest of this school year and then it look again at the summer as we see enrollments um enrollment process happens. Um we utilize the cohort survival method. What this is is just just advancing grade levels. So, if you're a kindergarten this year, you'd be a first grader next year. Um our 25-26 first graders become second graders next year and so on. Um we keep our pre-K and kindergarten numbers the same. Um one, we don't know what we don't know. Um while we reach out to our early childhood centers, um our daycares around town, we're not able to grasp those numbers of kids who haven't enrolled in those programs yet. Um, and so we kind of just

020sit there with those numbers. Also, it's going to be a little bit difficult next year due to the two-way dual program. Um, some of those students will be going to different schools. So, if you're a Fear Park student, you would be likely going to another school. So, we're going to have to balance all of that out. So, it's going to be an interesting year next year, um, when it comes to kindergartens. Um, as always, we keep in mind our collective bargaining agreements with our class parameters, our class size parameters. Uh, for next school year, uh, the K2 not parameter is 23 students. Our third and fourth grade parameters are 25 students. And then fifth through eighth grade, we have 30 students. Um, trends that we're seeing is that, uh, we are projecting just over 3,300

021students next year. Um, for the past six school years, we've been holding steady somewhere in between 3,400 and 30 the 3,550. Um, this downward trend is not unusual to us. We are seeing that locally, um, regionally, and across the nation is that student enrollment numbers are going down. Uh, the as Dr. Glickman shared, um, we did a staffing review, um, earlier this year uh, in the very early weeks of November, um, we began, uh, as a leadership team, engaging in staffing review in order to review and analyze every position in the district. Um, everybody we we did a process and we looked at each position in the district. And when we assess these positions, we looked at how each position impacts our learners and how it relates to our mission of empowering, um, learners. The

022purpose of this review was manifold. Um, regularly reviewing staffing is best practice and we had been doing that targeted over the past couple years. This was a full staff review. Staffing should match our current realities and needs. And, um, and also in late November, board, you'll remember that we had some new information regarding our, uh, future projections for fund balance and it drops significantly. So, that that came second after we started our process. Um, I will be sharing several position reductions tonight, um, but I can share as Dr. Glickman shared that all of our individuals who are in those positions will have another position next year. Um, each year I show you our projections and forecast for next year. Um, so based on our March 3rd data pull, um, here are projected numbers for next

023year. That's a lot of numbers up there. Um, I'm not expecting everybody to read through those, but, um, as you'll see as I shared earlier, our pre-K and kindergarten numbers stay the same. And then we look at the next eight grade levels. We see a decrease in five of the other grade levels with an increase in three. Um, we have some big bubbles and some small bubbles that move through our enrollment areas. Um, early childhood and kindergarten numbers. Each year, early childhood starts with a low number of students enrolled. And as it progres as we progress through the year, more students qualify, um, and so those we see those numbers go up. We usually see numbers ending up in about 180 to 190 students. Um, and then we also take a look at our kindergarten

024trends. And I here I give you a nine-year look back on our kindergarten numbers with full-day kindergarten beginning in 18-19. Um, as you will see, um, we hit a high number in 22-23 and then start to go down from there. Um, we will continue to monitor our kindergarten numbers as always, um, but as you're aware, kindergarten enrollment impacts future years. So, if a small group comes in, say this year's kindergarten group is 279, that will be a small cohort as they move forward. Here we are, um, discussing the certified staffing changes for 26-27. Due to the projected student enrollment, um, the district will need to reduce two classroom sections across the district. As shared earlier, this is just because of flood class size fluctuations. Um, these positions will be reduced through attrition due to retirements.

025So, these are, you know, we have so many kids in this grade here and they move up and a parameter changes, so those will change. Um, the positions that will be eliminated, um, we recognize the need to eliminate some of those positions and sought to do through, um, certified positions that do not work directly with our students. Those include our TOSAs, our TOSA who works with our newer teachers, our SCL coaches who support our teachers, and student facilitator student services facilitators who lead our IEP meetings. Um, and I'll share a little bit with that in a little bit further or a little bit later. Um, we'll also be reducing the number of media specialists at Frederick and GMS to half-time at both buildings. We will also have an information assistant who we split between those

026two buildings to off so that there's always staff at those media centers. In regards to our PSRP staffing changes, uh, for next year, we are going to be reducing the number of reading assistants, um, from 24. We have 24 positions right now on our staffing plan. 20 of those are filled. We'll be reducing that number to 10. Um, that will be a reading, uh, two reading assistants at our K4 buildings and Park and no reading assistants at GMS and Frederick. We'll also be Sorry. We don't >> We will we will take comments during the public comment at the end of the meeting. Thank you. We are reducing, uh, the number of media assistant positions from five total across the district to four. Prior View and the early childhood center will have a media assistant within

027that building and then the other buildings will have a half-time person but split between them. Administrative and exempt staffing changes, um, we are going to be reducing one union exempt data coordinator position. That will be through attrition. Um, we have two currently. Um, somebody is, um, taking another position someplace else and, um, we will reduce that by to one position. We are going to transition our current e early childhood center coordinator to a principal position. And we will have an addition of four assistant principals at the K4 buildings. Their responsibilities will include, can as Dr. Glickman shared, conducting staff evaluations, acting as the LEA representative at IEP meetings, which is currently done by our student student services facilitators. Um, they'll be supporting student disciplinary issues and providing instructional leadership. That brings me to the end

028of our staffing plan presentation. Any questions from the board? Any questions from board members? Or Mr. LaCroix? No. Dr. Glickman, I think you already alluded to this or talked about it explicitly actually, but can you just remind us just for maybe people who came in later, what are the benefits to kids that we've been talking for a while, but could you just remind us what those are? Certainly. Um, when we think when we were making our decisions, first of all, we I'm going to start with this. We recognize the need to make some strategic staffing decisions and some reductions. So, frankly, one of the benefits to students was that we did that in a way where very few of the people who are going to need to move into other positions were in positions where

029they were working directly with students. Uh, that's not, um, that that doesn't meet the description of our reading assistants, however. Reading assistants absolutely work directly with students. So, I want to talk about, um, the decision to make that change. We were actually really pleased and proud of how well our students are doing in the area of reading. And in fact, we looked very deeply at the data as to how many students qualify for reading support. And the number of students who qualify for reading support, um, doesn't match the number of reading assistant positions that we had. That's not to say that our reading assistants weren't working with many students, they absolutely were, but some of that work can be done in the classroom with the classroom teacher. Students who don't actually qualify for um, um

030those reading interventions. That's really a testament to the work that's happening in our classrooms every day, and we're really proud of that. Just flipping over to um how our um elementary assistant principals will support students. As I shared earlier, we are seeing behavior concerns rise consistently um you know, on a yearly basis, but almost on a daily basis with children who are significantly dysregulated, um a wide variety of struggles. And so, one of the responsibilities of our assistant principals will be to support the needs of those students. They'll also be able to support instruction, they'll be able to support evaluation, and they'll be able to support the um uh special education meetings. Mhm. Sure. Okay. Thank you, Dr. Walk. Okay, that brings us to the action item portion of the agenda this evening. Uh we've

031got a few action items to vote on this evening. Uh the first one, I need a motion to approve the contract renewal with GSF nighttime custodial services for the 2026-2027 school year as presented to us. I'll move. I'll second. Okay. Miller? I. Mack? I. Hune? I. And Halverson? I. Okay, motion carries. Second, I need a motion to approve the Grayslake Middle School lighting retrofit project as presented to us. I'll move. I'll second. I did have a >> Mr. Miller? Yeah, I did have a question. Um I'm just going to read this. So, I I I understand that the retrofit of GMS was proof of concept, right, Jose? And we saved $39,000 or will save that annually. And we're going to extend that out. So, I'm wondering if there's a either now or a different time,

032how would we figure it out the cumulative impact of all the energy if we put quite a bit of money into our infrastructure? So, building envelopes, solar panels, energy efficiencies on the roof, etc. So, is there a way to compile that all so we get a a sense of the cumulative impact of the energy efficiency efforts that we've been making? So, I know you had um brought that question to me today, and unfortunately, we weren't able to provide a clear answer to that question right now because our chief school business official is not with us this evening. He wasn't on site today. So, um we will work on that information and hopefully be able to provide it in the future. Thank you. And yes, I did just ask you today, so didn't expect a comprehensive

033answer. I was just wondering if there's a way to pull that all together, and I noticed that someone else is in the audience that might hear it, too. So, thank you. >> We'll talk about that. Good. Hune? I. Halverson? I. Miller? I. And Mack? I. Motion carries. Thank you. Uh third, we need a motion to approve the Wold Architect fee proposals for the 2027 Media Center renovations, please. I'll move. I'll second. Okay. Halverson? I. Mack? I. Hune? I. Miller? I. Okay. Motion carries. Thank you. Uh fourth, I need a motion to approve the memorandum of agreement with the Grayslake PSRP Council. I need a motion. I'll move. I'll second. Okay. Dr. Walk, I'm going to hand it over to you for comments. Sure. Uh so, working with our uh PSRP union, um I'm creating this

034memory memorandum of agreement. Uh this memorandum does not change the language of the collective bargaining agreement, but rather identifies a process by which staff will be able to identify preferences in their future placement and remain in compliance with the collective bargaining agreement. This came about due to some of the reductions of our PSRP staff. Thank you, Dr. Walk. Any questions? Okay. Halverson? I. Miller? I. Hune? I. And Mack? I. Motion carries. Thank you. Finally, I need a motion to approve Brad Goldstein as the interim director of finance and the interim CSBO. I'll move. Second. Okay. I'm going to hand this over to Dr. Glickman for comments. Thank you. Well, I want to start by welcoming into this space next year's um assistant superintendent for finance, Mr. Scott Wold, who is in the room way in

035the corner. Can you give a wave? Okay. >> [laughter] >> I promise, Mr. Wold, I mean, it would be nice if we had a lot of attendance on a regular basis, but I think as you know from the meeting when you were hired, it's not usually quite this packed in this room. We're really glad that you're here tonight. Um so, why do we need an interim when we have hired Mr. Wold to begin next year? And by the way, well, everyone's going to have to get used to the fact that our architect firm is Wold Architects, and the new director and new assistant superintendent for finance is Scott Wold, no relation. He shared. So, I'm just telling you, we're going to be hearing a lot of Wolds all the time. Anyway, why do we need

036an interim? Well, Mr. Wildman, our current assistant superintendent for finance and CSBO, has requested and been approved for an extended leave of absence. And we cannot be without a CSBO, a chief uh school business officer. Um No lie, I did call Mr. Wold and say, "Hey, any chance that they can let you go early over in your current district?" But his school district has only just posted the position, correct? Right. And so, we would never do that to a neighbor, try to grab away um what will be ours eventually >> [laughter] >> early. So, we didn't do that. However, we were able to find somebody who is willing to help us out during this leave of absence, and that is Mr. Brad Goldstein. That name may be familiar to some people in the room because

037Brad was the CSBO here in School District 46 from I think it was 2008 to 2010 at the beginning of his career as a CSBO. He then went on to other school districts and has since retired. So, he is coming back in. He will be with us between three to five days a week. Um pending board approval, he's ready to start tomorrow. And we're very grateful that he's willing to come and help us out on such short notice. Okay. Thank you, Dr. Glickman. Any questions from the board? Okay. Miller? I. Mack? I. Halverson? I. And Hune? I. Okay, motion approved. Thank you very much. That is the end of the action item portion of the agenda. Moving on to unfinished business, we have a link on here for the Organic Life Food Service contract. And

038Well, you're looking at me, so. >> Yep. This is something that usually our CSBO would be talking with you all about. The good news is that just last board meeting, you saw a presentation um from um Organic Life. So, you were able to ask some questions at that time, board. Um and I think got some of those questions answered. We will be bringing the So, that So, you've all seen the memo, um and you've seen the rates. This is just a rollover contract. Um and the vote would come at the next board meeting. Does anyone have any questions or anything they want to discuss about this contract? I just have one, and I don't know if it can be answered tonight, and that's okay if not. Um I was just curious because we know that

039food prices may be going up, and I'm just wondering like once this price is in place, does that affect either the cost or the quality of what students will have next year? Oh, that's a really great question. So, we will bring that to Organic Life and have them answer that, and I'll be able to bring an answer back for you at the next board meeting. Okay, that's a great question. I'll piggyback on that. Um I'm also I've been thinking about the quality of food and also transportation emissions, and I had asked at our last meeting for information about how much of our menus of the menus at school have include locally sourced, not purchased, but sourced food. And the reason for that is to cut down on food miles, but also to increase the nutritional

040density. So, it speaks to the quality of food, too. So, just curious um if we can get that specific information. The response that we got back was locally purchased. We're actually looking for locally sourced food. Just a little different. Can you Can Can more about that? >> Yeah. So, their parent company in the corporate site says that they procure a lot of food from Gordon and that it should be within 500 miles, but I'm not clear if 500 miles are or of our schools. And also, um I'm wondering if if it's possible to increase the nutritional density of our meals by using food that's grown closer to here. So, with that as context, the question is how much of the food that's actually being served is locally sourced? As opposed to locally purchased. Uh you

041mean locally grown. That too. Right? >> Yes. Mhm. Okay. I understand your question. All right, we'll get the answer to that. Okay. >> Okay. All right, that moves us on to new business this evening, which is an E-rate purchase. A link here, Dr. Pulsar, is that done by you? Yes. So, um as E-rate is a federal program that supports network infrastructure in schools and libraries. Um our district, as a part of this program, receives a 50% discount on qualified network equipment. Um with the funding this year, we are looking to add some switches to accommodate the safety and security improvements that we are putting into place. Um some universal power supplies, which keep the network up and running and protect the equipment that we are purchasing, and then some outdoor wireless access points to extend

042our network into our parking lots and into our outdoor learning spaces. Any comments or questions? I just want to say Dr. >> Miller there? Dr. Pulsar, yeah. Thank you, Dr. Pulsar. Okay. Okay, that brings us to topics for future agenda items. Dr. Glickman. Sorry. Uh on April 8th, we're going to have a lot of students, which will be wonderful. Um the GMS Frederick Park wrestling team, yes, that is one wrestling team, will be coming to be um awarded for some wonderful achievements. We will have our GMS Panthers here that night, so that's our students from GMS who have been working on a wide variety of pro- uh projects. Board, you've heard them speak to you before. They will stand somewhere back there at [laughter] the microphone and share an update, and then we'll have a

043couple of them sitting at the board table, um which I know is something that the board loves. Um on April 8th, we also will be bringing forth three or four, still don't know know, um strategic planning consultants to present to you. Um so, you've um board members, you've all seen already the materials that they submitted in their proposals. Um from those um submissions, three or four of them will be coming to speak with all of you and kind of present not kind of, and present in front of you so that you can ask them questions, and ultimately you'll be able to make a decision as to who will be facilitating uh strategic planning next fall. Um we'll bring that organic life renewal back for um uh an action item, and at that time, I'll have

044answers to your questions. Um we'll also bring that E-rate back to you for approval that night. That is all I have at this time for sure for April 8th. Um on April 22nd, um our Park Campus Wolves will be here, just like we're doing the GMS Panthers next board meeting, then we'll have the Wolves on April 22nd for the same kind of a presentation and uh sitting at the board table. Um and then hopefully you'll be able to approve a strategic planning facilitator um company and or consultant that evening as well. Um May 13th will be another finance committee meeting. So, hopefully our couple of um community members who are not a part of the board, but who are on the finance committee will be able to be here that night. Um that evening, um

045the preliminary budget will be presented by um by Mr. Goldstein. And I'm happy to tell you that we're very, very far down the line already in preparing that budget. Um certainly Mr. Wildman did a lot of work with um our administrators on that budget already, and it's, you know, it's it's already in good shape, and um Mr. Goldstein will do some more work on that and present it to you on May 13th. Um also on May 13th, that is the date that we have um targeted for approving contracts for our new assistant principals. So, um we're expecting to be able to bring contracts to you that evening. Um and then we have two board meetings in June, June 10th. Um we will um that's the date we're going to do our administrative team will do

046our strategic plan update. Not to be confused with the strategic planning facilitator um selections that we're going to be working on next month. This is just an update as to the work that has been accomplished in this past year regarding our strategic plan and what the work is for next year. Board, I think at the last meeting we went back and forth a little bit as to when in June to do that um presentation. I've confirmed with some team members based on some schedules that it really needs to be on June 10th. So, I'm just letting you all know that's the date of that meeting. And June 24th, we don't have anything at this time planned, but we got lots of time between now and June 24th. Also, it is possible that in June, um

047we'll have our Wold Architects come in to talk about, in one of those two dates, I don't know which, um to talk about the work that is being done to plan for summer of '27 and the other three uh media centers that will be updated that summer, because that work, I'm in terms of um working with staff members in planning, is going to be starting very soon. So, we think in June we'll have some things to share with you about that. That's what I have. May I just uh make a request? I know we talked about this, there's no rush, but when Wold comes to talk about the media center, can they speak to the feasibility of Green Guard certification just to protect indoor air quality? Yes, and I know you'd asked that, and we'll

048see if we can get an answer even sooner to that. >> Okay. And then my other question is, we've done resource [clears throat] conservation in June. Do we know which Uh don't know which one we'll do for that. Yeah. Yes. Yeah. It's possible it's possible that that will be in May, but I don't think so. It'll probably be in June. So, if you wanted to do the cumulative savings, it can wait till the same time. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Lynn, I had a question about the April 8th Yes. we hear the strategic planning um proposals, is it possible for us, and maybe board, we can discuss this later, to have some um aligned criteria with which to evaluate the presentations? I agree, and uh yeah, we will. We'll definitely have a rubric of some sort, yeah.

049>> Yep. Yeah. Okay. Thank you, Dr. Glickman. You got it. Okay, that brings us to the second public comment portion of this evening. And Dr. Wold, I think you're going to just go down the list for me there, is that okay? I am, but given that it's difficult to get back there, I'll turn around, Mr. >> around, that's fine. That's fine. We can go up here, that's fine. And just as a just as a a point of business from [clears throat] the board, this is an opportunity for the board to listen very deeply to the comments that you are giving. We will not respond to your comments this evening. If we need to respond to them, or if you need to talk to us outside of the board meeting, then we will welcome that opportunity,

050but do not anticipate a response from us from the board table. We do limit comments to 3 minutes per person in order of efficiency, so I'll keep time up here as well as we move forward, and you have the floor. I'll open it to Dr. Wold. As I shared, if you don't want to try and get back there, you can use this mic here. Uh we start Coy Flores. Good evening. Uh my intention was to be here prior to the meeting uh for first um public comment, um but I wasn't able to get down here. Um and what my intention was at that point in time was to um speak to the board on behalf of the Grayslake Federation of Teachers, and um thank you for your continued dedication to the students and staff of

051the district. Uh we see the time and the effort that you put in, and we are very grateful for it. I also wanted to offer an advance apology, but now I will offer a non-advance apology for all of the disruption that was caused this evening. Um as you know, most of our members were um doing the uh very important work of meeting with families this evening, and our conferences were not over until 6:00. Um it is, however, uh in very important to them, as you can see, to be here and be heard this evening. Um so, we do apologize for the disruptions that it caused to the meeting. Um we know that you, as a board, value the voices of your staff, and we thank you for that support and understanding. And again, we appreciate

052your patience, and we apologize for any interruptions as our members came into the room. Thank you, Ms. Flores. And let me just be clear, too. We we don't consider it an interruption. This isn't This is why we are here, to listen. So, thank you for that. I appreciate it. You could run in with flames coming out of the side of your face, and we would be okay with you coming in the >> [laughter] >> Can Can we not do that? >> Yeah, no. I was just saying. Strike that from the meeting. >> [laughter] >> Please don't. Um next, Michelle Knott. Good evening. My name is Michelle Knott. I'm a reading specialist at Meadowview School. As the school board makes upcoming decisions about cuts to our reading assistants, there are things we want you to know

053about them. You've heard that the data shows that these people and what they can do can be handled by the teachers. But, we want you to hear from the reading specialists about what they do and how the students greatly benefit from their daily work. Reading assistants provide support in every single grade level and this in this district. Assisting the reading specialist during intervention time is just a portion of their day. During this time, they help provide support and guidance to readers who are starting their reading journey, as well as give continued assistance to those who are still struggling to make reading automatic. We know early intervention is critical, and reading assistants are there to help with early literacy instruction with our youngest learners who do not show having reading needs on a listening assessment. However,

054intervention time is not where it ends. They assist classroom teachers in a variety of subject areas when student needs are greater than one human can provide. These are ML students, reading students who struggle in the classroom, students who do not to your services but verge on needing an intervention, students who miss instruction, students who need another round of instruction. This list can go on and on. We have worked endlessly to make sure every child is seen as more than a number with one single assessment that gives them and a team of individuals that work to give every child what they need. Reading assistants are an integral part of this team. When necessary decisions need to be made, please don't cut the people who have an immediate and indispensable impact on student learning. Our reading assistants

055have proven to be dedicated, hands-on, caring professionals who go above and beyond to support countless students and teachers. The impact of their work expands far beyond tier two and tier three reading interventions. These members of our team work behind the scenes in classrooms at nearly every grade level supporting students in tier one reading and writing instruction on a daily basis. At times, they are also the ones who give students motor breaks. They do check-in and check out and help to foster their over well overall well-being. When our school's intervention team meet to discuss students who are struggling, our reading assistants are often a part of the plan to provide additional support to help these students. Cutting the people who work tirelessly to support students whose needs go far beyond a simple MAP score is going

056to negatively impact overall student growth. Our students and classroom teachers are going to feel the heavy weight of their absence. Assistants are used to reinforce essential literacy skills. We are able to reach students who may be lacking skills that need a booster, and then they're well on their way. Without assistants, these students will require more support for longer periods of times. If we no longer have consistent kindergarten and first grade reading assistant support, early intervention is going to look quite different. As reading specialists, we will not be able to reach the amount of students we do without our reading assistant support. Do not underestimate our reading assistants' roles. We rely on our reading assistants to take what we give them and dive deeper. As they get to know students, they will plan and implement to

057meet students' needs. The reading assistants start to build the same relationship with these students that we reading specialists do. Our reading assistants provide individualized attention that our students so desperately need to build confidence and keep our students motivated. This relationship can impact our students across the board. It is also important to mention that the cut scores for MAP tests have changed. Scores that used to be below the 25th percentile are now above the 25th percentile just this past year. So, yes, it does look like we have students that are um above the 25th percentile, but those Sorry, I'm losing my spot. It does look like we have less students below the 25th percentile, but those students that are now above the 25th percentile are still missing key literacy skills that our assistants help to strengthen

058and reinforce. It should also be noted that specialists were asked solely to list how many students per grade level scored in tier two and tier three on each reading MAP test, respectively. Instead, specialists should have been asked to report how many students they, as well as the reading assistants, actually service. These two numbers vary dramatically. Decisions should be based on the most pertinent and relevant data to ensure that instructional decisions are transparent, responsible, and in fact data-driven. Can I go? OKAY. >> [laughter] >> WE'VE GOT MORE. I I CAN SWITCH. >> [laughter] [applause] >> THANK YOU, DR. KNOTT. SOME OF THE UNSEEN impact of this short-sighted decision is the effect it will have on our youngest students. On paper, these students look great, but in reality, that's because the NWEA MAP assessment is read to

059them. This is a listening comprehension measure, not a true reading assessment. Many of these students would not qualify under district standards. If we were to leave these students with no further I keep losing my spot. Um with further assistance due to the reduction of support staff within reading, we almost guarantee an increase in tier two and tier three qualifiers as these students progress. If we fail to impact these students at the beginning of the learning journey, what will the residual effect be as they progress without the necessary level of support? Is this staffing plan a short-term solution that will follow with an increase in support later? Because to catch up these students, we are going to be ending up failing. It should also be noted that many buildings have had openings for special education program

060assistants that haven't been filled for several years. Wondering, is there some sort of excess budget that there is to fund reading assistants at least for a while? It's with great shortness of sight that administrators recommend cutting our reading assistant positions. As you have heard many times, the work our assistants do to support our students is essential. At Frederick, the assistants have serviced many what we call bubble kids, those kids that are right there above the 25th percentile, or students who are close to qualifying for reading services this year. They've helped to develop key literacy skills. They've helped develop key relationships with students who don't necessarily love school or don't love reading. If those roles are cut, those students will then have to wait longer to fail and fall further behind. Tier three and bubble students

061will not be the only ones impacted by these cuts. In recent years, we have had several fifth and sixth grade students who are new to the district and are essentially non-readers. Because our assistants help cover other groups, we have been able to provide the specialized instruction these non-readers need and have seen tremendous progress. However, eliminating 40% of the reading staff at the upper grades will make it nearly impossible to differentiate instruction and provide the reading support all students need and deserve. At most schools, fifth grade is still considered elementary. At Park, fifth graders are considered elementary, but because of these proposed cuts, our fifth graders at Frederick are being treated as middle school students, and they'll be missing out. We would ask the board to please come see Come see what our reading assistants do

062on a daily basis. Come talk to us, the reading specialists, about our real data that may not be explainable on a piece of paper. These decisions need to be reconsidered. Thank you for your time. Thank you, Dr. Knott, for letting me talk. Thank you, MS. KNOTT. >> [applause] [applause] >> OKAY. KELLY OKAY. SO, AMY FOREST. OKAY, HI. I'm Amy Forest, but I'm speaking on behalf of Prairie View's first grade team. Um we are writing to express our strong support for maintaining a full-time library assistant position at Prairie View, as well as the continued support of all current reading assistants. Sorry. Our library assistant, Ashley Fain, is an essential part of the school community, being meaningful building meaningful relationships with students that encourage a love of reading and a sense of belonging. Students look forward to

063seeing her and these positive connections help foster excitement and engagement in the library. She goes above and beyond by planning book-related activities that connect directly to the stories she reads aloud. These activities deepen students' understanding, spark creativity, and make reading a more interactive and enjoyable experience. In addition, having a full-time library assistant is critical for the daily functioning of the library. Managing book checkout, in and out, while also supervising and supporting an entire class is not something one teacher can effectively do alone. The presence of Ms. Fain ensures that the library runs smoothly, students are supported, and instructional time is used efficiently. Reading assessments Reading assistants are also vital to the reading success of our students. They provide tier one support that helps prevent students from needing tier two intervention. When reading specialists have too

064many students requiring tier two support, students are not able to receive the small group instruction they need. Reading assistants help alleviate this by supporting students early and consistently. Reading assistants provide enrichment opportunities for students, helping to extend learning and challenge those who are ready for more. A classroom teacher without the support is simply not as effective, as it limits the level of individualized instruction that can be provided. The growth our students demonstrate, including on assessments such as NWEA, is in part due to the consistent support of these assistants. Their contributions play a meaningful role in student achievement and overall academic success. I strongly believe that maintaining all current reading assistant positions at Prairie View is essential to continuing the success and growth of our students. Overall, these positions are not only valuable, but necessary. They

065support both the academic and social growth of our students, while allowing our school to function as an organized, supportive, and enriching environment. Thank you for your consideration. And this is Abby Donny, Laura Lopez, Amanda Crujeira, and Brianna Batiste. >> [applause] >> Thank you, Ms. Boyce. Rebecca Wynn. Thank you. So, my question earlier was you had said or described every other position that was being cut other than the reading assistant position that was not outlined in any way. As if the reading assistants are just there to sit down and teach them how to read. As if they didn't matter. So, that was my question and I apologize for interrupting you earlier. Dr. Blickman, you said you've very, very carefully considered the students' needs and welfare. Will those assistant principals be certified for the social and emotional

066and for the student facilitator? Are they going to be leading with support or taking the principal role and focusing on discipline only? And I apologize, I'm not going to speak as eloquently as these lovely teachers. I wonder if you've considered the Americans with dis- disability Act lawsuit implications this may have. You say there's 23 to 30 students per class with a projected 3,317 students. Walking in today, I passed the library hallway signs that read you matter. And it's okay, too. But you're going to shove these students in a box, tell them to find their individuality, and they're going to be completely unsupported in that. Their emotional wellness, their mental health, their reading capacity, their understanding of the world, you're taking that from them at such an early age. You're hindering them. So, tell me, how

067is this very, very carefully considered? Who will it be okay for them to reach out to when the assistant principal is busy with 10 other students and back- logged with paperwork? My child is lucky because I have a stable home environment, because I have friends and family that support me. You can't sit there and tell me that all 3,317 students that walk through your doors next year are going to have that same same life. You're taking away early interventions. You're removing protections from them that only the social emotional teachers only student service facilitators, only reading advocates can provide. You're going to tell me that the person that gives them detention, they're going to go to when something is wrong at home. Here at Frederick and GMS, multiple other stud- places, multiple other schools, you have

068kids that are entering puberty. Can I talk about my kid entering puberty? All of the hormones, all of the emotions, all of the things that that brings about, there's going to be questions on healthy relationships. And they're not always going to see that mirrored at home. And you're going to tell me that they're going to go to the assistant principal. And again, is that assistant principal going to be trained and certified for social emotional services and for student facilities to help them with IEPs? What is the need? Why are we taking these positions? What does this school need more than to support the children that we trust you with? >> [applause] >> Thank you. >> [applause] >> Marni Emmerman. WELL, THAT'S A GOOD FEELING. ALL RIGHT, EXCUSE MY back over here. Um Hi. Good evening,

069members of the board and everybody else. My name is Marni Emmerman and I am one of the SEL coaches here, um serving two of our K through four elementary buildings. Stephanie and I are here tonight to speak about a role that often works behind the scenes, but also directly with students. And serves as the backbone of our classrooms, the SEL coach. At a glance, it's easy to view this position as a luxury or an add-on. But if we look at the data, and more importantly, the faces of our children, and let me tell you, I walked into the lunchroom today, um and a whole kindergarten class got up and said, "Mrs. Emmerman!" and came and gave me the biggest hug and they were like, "What behavior buddy are we learning about today?" You You can't

070tell me I don't impact students. I just want to point that OUT. SORRY. >> [cheering] [applause] >> THANK YOU. OH, [sighs] SORRY. UM BUT truly though, if we do look at the data, it becomes clear that the SEL coach is not an elective um expense, but a prerequisite for academic achievement. According to the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning, or CASEL, SEL interventions that addressed the five core competencies increased students' academic performance by 11%. Sorry, 11 percentile points. As compared to students who did not participate. We often hear that we need to get back to the basics, reading, writing, and math, which are very extremely important. Don't get me wrong. But a brain that is in a state of high stress or emotional dysregulation cannot process long division or analyze literature. They just can't.

071When a student walks into a classroom overwhelmed by anxiety or lacking the tools to resolve a conflict with a peer, their learning stops. They're not able to learn. An SEL coach isn't just teaching feelings. We're teaching self-regulation, executive functioning, resilience. And by supporting our teachers in implementing these strategies, the SEL coach is effectively reclaiming instructional time that would otherwise be lost to behavioral disruptions. As you know, our teachers are currently facing high levels of burnout. We ask them to be educators, mentors, and crisis managers all at once. The SEL coach provides the professional scaffolding that they need. We provide the how for managing a classroom's emotional climate, allowing teachers to focus on the what of the curriculum. To remove this position is to remove the primary support system for the very people we entrust with

072our children's education. Finally, we must look at the long-term impact. The skills fostered by an SEL coach, collaboration, empathy, problem-solving, interpersonal skills, and more, are the exact skills that the modern workforce demands. We aren't just preventing behavioral crises today or all day long, if you're at one of my schools, but um but we Sorry. >> [gasps] >> But we are building capable, employable, and emotionally intelligent citizens for tomorrow. Investing in an SEL coach is an investment in the whole child. It is an acknowledgement that for a student to reach their full potential, they must first feel safe, seen, and supported. So, I urge the board to maintain this vital position to ensure our district remains a place where every student is equipped to learn. So, I want to leave you with two things today. First,

073when Stephanie's done, we'll be handing you a packet of letters and petitions regarding the retention of this position. These are more than just names. They're the collective voice of staff members testifying to how vital the SEL coach role is to our students func- daily functioning. And secondly, I want to leave you with a shift in perspective. Social emotional learning isn't a distraction from or in addition to academics, it's the delivery system for them. So, if we want the results, we have to support the system that makes them possible. THANK YOU. >> [applause] [applause] >> STEPHANIE TIMM. OKAY, THANK YOU. UM THANK YOU FOR THE opportunity to speak tonight. My name is Stephanie Timm and I am the other SEL coach. I want to start by saying that we do understand the difficult nature of budget

074decisions and we are not here to be negative at all, but just to provide some clarity and context about our role that is still relatively new and to us not yet fully visible in its impact. The SEL coach position was created 3 years ago and has grown into a comprehensive support system for both students and staff across our district. It was designed to complement the role of the dean by providing proactive support at the elementary level. Building student skills early to reduce discipline concerns now, both and in the future. Currently, there are two of us serving four buildings, splitting our time between schools and working directly in classrooms to provide tier one support. This includes lessons on emotional regulation through the Zones of Regulation, classroom circles to build community and problem solve, and responsive lessons

075based on real-time student needs. We also collaborate with our school social workers to provide targeted small group support. In addition to student-facing work, we support staff through professional development in social emotional learning, trauma-informed practices, restorative practices, and behavior management aligned with state mandates. We also support new teacher training, helping educators embed SEL into daily instruction through classroom meetings and practical strategies. We have also led initiatives that support the district as a whole. Calming bins, which began as a pilot in one building, were actually used 544 times in the first year that we rolled it out and it continues to show positive um impact this year. These tools require instruction, modeling, and ongoing support. Without this role, it is unclear how their success would be sustained. We also introduced the No Place for Hate initiative across

076all four elementary schools, helping foster inclusive environments through student-led projects, buddy classrooms, and collaboration with our deans. In addition, we share weekly classroom resources, collaborate with special education teams, stay current with evolving SEL standards, and have represented the district by presenting at the Lake County ROE Institute Day in February twice. This role is embedded in classrooms, staff development, and student support systems. After 3 years, we are just beginning to see its long-term impact. Currently, I support approximately 28 classrooms each week, reaching an estimated of estimated 640 students. In addition to leading small groups and supporting our pre-K classrooms on Fridays. We respectfully ask that before any final decision is made, the board considers the scope, reach, and continued potential of this position. We welcome any questions and we have provided, like Marni was saying, a

077packet of letters from staff and families who have experienced this impact firsthand. I would like to end by reminding us of our district mission, to empower learners, create equity, and cultivate community, and ask that we consider how this role helps bring that mission to life for our youngest learners. Thank you for your time, your thoughtful consideration, and your continued support of our students and educators. >> [applause] >> THANK YOU BOTH. >> [applause] >> ALLISON STEPHENS. Now it's on. I turned it off. Cool. All right, dear members of the Board of Education, I'm Allison Stevens, social worker at Woodview. Um I'm writing to express my strong and urgent support for maintaining the social emotional learning SEL coach position within our district. This role has been proven not only to be valuable, but essential for the well-being,

078growth, and success of our students and staff. I'm standing before you with my employer hat on, but I'm also a parent of a first grader who is impacted positively by this initiative. The SEL coach plays a critical role in implementing and sustaining initiatives that directly support student regulation and emotional development, such as the creation and implementation of the calm corners across our elementary schools, like they were talking about, and the ongoing collection and analysis of the data to guide their effectiveness. These efforts are part of a thoughtful, proactive system that ensures students receive the support that they need before challenges escalate. At the tier one level, the SEL coach has worked alongside classroom teachers to deliver curriculum, model strategies, and provide targeted support for identified student needs. This includes helping teachers create inclusive environments where

079all students feel accepted, understood, and capable of success. Beyond the classroom, the SEL coach has partnered with a social worker, hi, to lead tier two friendship groups across grade levels, supporting general education students in building essential social skills. They've also been a key contributor to the intervention team, which is a team of individuals that support the multi-tiered system of supports, meetings, assisting with data collection, guiding the problem-solving discussions, and serving as a point person for students participating in the check-in check-out program, which is an intervention that provides consistent support for students who need additional structure and connection. The impact extends to staff development as well. Through professional development sessions, the SEL coach has equipped educators with the tools and understanding necessary to integrate social emotional learning, including trauma-informed approach into daily instructing instruction, benefiting every

080student in the building. Furthermore, they've taken an initiative in developing a supportive approach to connect with chronically truant students. This proactive work reflects a broader shift from the reactive responses to preventative, student-centered practices. Without the SEL coaches, many of these systems and supports would significantly be weakened or lost. Students who rely on these interventions may fall through the cracks and staff would lose a vital partner in addressing both academic and emotional needs. Most importantly, we risk moving backwards, returning to a model that reacts to challenges and behaviors, as we all can relate to you and see on a daily basis, rather than preventing these. The SEL coaches are not extra, they are the cornerstone of a comprehensive support system that allows students to thrive academically, socially, and emotionally. I respectfully urge the board to recognize

081the profound impact of this role and to continue investing in it for the benefit of our entire school community. Thank you for your time, consideration, and continued continued commitment to our students' social emotional needs. >> [applause] >> Thank you. >> [applause] >> Katie Reed. My apologies for Can you hear me okay if I stand up straight? >> [laughter] >> Um I'm Kim Peterson. Thank you for this opportunity. I'm reading this on behalf of the amazing Katie Reed, fourth grade teacher at Woodview School. To the Board of Education, I understand the need for thoughtful restructuring within the district. However, I am concerned that decisions may be moving forward without meaningful input from those who work most closely with students each day, classroom teachers. Additionally, the lack of transparency surrounding potential staffing changes has created uncertainty, particularly

082as positions such as SEL coaches and assistants appear to be under consideration for a reduction without a clear explanation shared with staff. While data is an important part of decision-making, it is equally important to include the perspectives of teachers who experience the day-to-day rea- realities of student needs. The value of SEL coaches and support staff have has been significant, especially as schools continue to respond to increasing behavioral and social emotional challenges. These roles provide essential support through social groups, in-class assistance, and crisis response, helping students remain engaged and successful in the classroom. Although the SEL position is relatively new and may still be evolving, the impact in a short amount of time has been meaningful. With clearer direction and continued investment, these roles have the potential to make an even greater different difference, potentially through

083expanded support across buildings. Similarly, assistants play a critical role, often building long-term relationships with students and serving as key members of crisis response teams. Until a comprehensive and clearly defined behavior plan is established, one that ensures consistency and supports the emotional and physical safety of both students and staff, these positions remain an important part of maintaining a positive and productive learning environment. I also want to respectfully note that the timing of this vote occurring during conferences may unintentionally limit staff awareness and engagement of an issue that directly impacts their work. Greater transparency and communication will go a long way in fostering trust and collaboration. I respectfully urge the Board of Education to gather direct feedback from teachers before making final decisions regarding staffing changes or position reductions. Teacher insight is essential to fully understanding classroom

084needs and ensuring that decisions best support both students and staff. Thank you for your time, consideration, and continued commitment to our school community. Sincerely, Katie Reed. >> [applause] >> TERRY MONAHAN. ADD? YEP. HELLO. GOOD EVENING. My name is Terry Monahan and I have been a teacher at Woodview School for 19 years. I'm here tonight to express my deep frustration with the potential staffing decisions in District 46. We have learned in the past week that we will be losing reading assistants, media assistants, and our SEL coaches. The positions are all vital to the support of both our students and staff. Reading assistants are often the difference between student falling behind and a student catching up. They provide targeted small group instruction for the classroom teacher. That classroom teachers, no matter how skilled or dedicated we are,

085simply do not have the time to provide all at the same level while managing full classrooms. SEL coaches are another critical loss. We all know that students cannot learn effectively if they do not feel supported emotionally and socially. We have seen this first hand in our buildings. These professionals help students regulate, problem-solve, and stay engaged in school. Without them, those needs don't disappear, they shift onto already overwhelmed teachers. Our media assistants are essential in to maintaining school libraries as dynamic hubs for learning, research, and literacy. They work closely with our students and support teachers by providing the resources needed to build engaging lessons. We are investing in upgrading our libraries, but without their support, these improvements will not be fully utilized. What concerns me most is that all of these cuts point to the same

086direction, fewer adults available to provide individualized attention, guidance, and support. We are being told to meet every student's needs, close the achievement gaps, support mental health, and improve outcomes while simultaneously simultaneously removing the very people who make those goals possible. That is not a sustainable goal. This is not just about staffing, this is about priorities. When we reduce these roles, we are making a decision decision about what and who we value in our schools. Can you explain how these decisions promote equity? How do these cuts serve the best interests of our students? If difficult financial decisions must be made, I urge the board to also take a hard look at administrative positions. Before cutting direct student support, we should be asking whether there are administrative roles that can be reduced, consolidated, or restructured, especially those

087that are further removed from the daily school student impact. Look around here tonight. We have a very dedicated group of educators that came here after teaching a full day and conferencing with parents that are truly here for the best interest of each and every student. I urge this board to really consider the damage these changes will create before voting. Talk to the educators in each building. Look at the real day-to-day impact because right now the message being sent is that these supports are expendable. Our students and staff deserve better than that. THANK YOU. >> [applause] [applause] >> THANK YOU. SHELBY WHITE. CAN YOU HEAR ME? OH, I NEED TO BE CLOSER? It's not on. Oh, it's on, you can hear me? I mean, I'll be loud anyway. Okay. Uh good evening. My name is Shelby

088White. I'm in my sixth year teaching third grade at Meadowview School. I'm an active member of our community as well. I attended D46 schools from 2001 to 2009. And also serve as the head coach for JV softball and girls golf at Grayslake Central High School. Last Thursday, March 12th, D46 staff received an email from our director of HR stating that the next school year, all elementary buildings are required to reduce their number of reading assistants to only two. This would eliminate half of the reading assistants that currently work with students at Meadowview. In May, I actually finish with my master's degree certifying Sorry, certifying me as a reading interventionist. I highly value the learning of D46 students and literacy instruction because after all, it is because of this district that I myself learned how to

089read. Because the email we received did not provide context, I responded to it and I CC'd our director of teacher and learning as well as our teaching and learning coordinator. I was never given a response. So, I'd like to read these questions posed in my email verbatim right now. Question one is, is the district aware of the fact that reading assistants, at least at Meadowview, are also recess monitors for every recess time in our day? If the district is aware, what has been the decided solution on who will be monitoring recess for the upcoming school year? Question two states, is the district aware of the fact that reading assistants are taken as substitutes, essentially on a daily basis, when teachers are absent and subs are not available? If the district is aware of this, can

090it be assumed that the reading assistant who will remain on staff at our buildings will not be allowed to get pulled so those students can receive the needed intervention? Question three, if only two students will be at each elementary building, that of course increases reading group size and decreases the amount of reading groups that can occur. This in turn will mean that reading interventionists must pull students during more times of the day, such as science and social science instruction. This has two repercussions that bring me to ask these two questions. First, is the district discussing how to modify all of the elementary building schedules to avoid having students who need reading intervention miss, for example, science and social science? And then secondly, are discussions and accommodations being made for other support staff, such as our

091speech pathologists, social workers, OT, PT, who also take students during science and social science instructional time? Question four pertain to if the district has considered how contradictory it seems to renovate the libraries and um value the space for literacy learning to occur, but in turn hindering literacy growth by eliminating the very people that work directly with them on achieving grade level literacy? And question five pertains to the standardized testing data that actually Dr. Wicklund, you referred to earlier. But I ask specifically and wonder if the district has physical evidence that can be provided to us so that way teachers such as myself who only see our school's data can see the district level data that you speak of. Um these questions that I sent were left unanswered, which is personally uh unacceptable in my opinion.

092Our district website directly states that its financial goal is to review, expand, and clarify financial practices to increase transparency and communication with a focus on aligning financial decision-making to district goals. Two out of three of those district goals that are also on our district website are empowering learners and creating equity. Our reading assistants are an integral part of empowering students to be confident readers as well as successful members of a community. Without all of them, our school days would not run smoothly. Along with helping our students work towards grade level literacy, they also foster important connections and become trusted adults for them. It is my hope that the district and the board will consider how this decision-making pro- process lacked transparency and it's going to significantly impact student growth. Thank you. >> [applause] [applause] >>

093Jen Miller. I was just going to say I would like to say I taught her how to read. >> [applause and cheering] >> Now I feel really old. Um I My name's Jennifer Miller and I teach first grade at Woodview School and I'm reading this on behalf of the Prairieview fourth grade teachers. Dear school board and administration, we are writing to express our concern regarding the potential reduction and restructuring of reading assistant positions within our building and school. These staff members play a vital role in supporting the daily learning and well-being of our students. Reading assistants provide essential support to students who need additional guidance, including those who struggle academically, require behavioral support, or benefit from small group instruction. Their presence allows teachers to better meet the diverse needs of all learners and ensures that

094every student receives the attention that they need to succeed. When assistant positions are reduced or restructured, the impact is felt across the entire classroom. Students who require extra support may not receive timely help. Small group instruction becomes more difficult to provide and teachers are stretched thinner while trying to manage both instruction and individual student needs. Ultimately, this affects student progress, classroom engagement, and the overall learning environment. We strongly urge the board and administration to explore alternative budget savings that we do not compromise the direct academic support necessary for our students' success. We are prepared to discuss the profound profound positive impact these assistants have and urge you to keep these vital positions fully funded. Prairie View fourth grade. >> [applause] >> MARIA PRIEGO. SO, MY NAME IS Maria Jesús Priego Garcia and I am a

095bilingual resource teacher at Ivan school. I think the only one in the district at the moment, but not sure of that. I came from Spain 5 years ago and I've and I've seen how the district has been losing a lot of support and resources. But, at the same time, we all have a banky in our rooms. I won't be working in the district next year. But, that is not something that we're going to discuss about today. I stand here today, not just as an employee, but as a as someone who lives the reality of our schools every single day. I understand difficult decisions have to be made. But, I need to be clear. These cuts do not match what is actually happening in our schools. You are reducing positions like SEL support, reading staff, and

096library assistants, as well as ELAs. The people working directly with students every day, while increasing administrative roles to address behavior. But, behavior is not solved from an office. When a child is in crisis, with bites, kicks, and punches come, it's not administrators who are consistently first on the scene. It is not school-based staff. Sorry, it is school-based staff, many of whom are part of the positions being eliminated. These are the people who de-escalate, who protect others, and who keep classroom running. So, the question is, why remove the people already doing that work? At the same time, we are told reading is improving. Yet, every goal and every meeting is still focused on raising literacy and math outcomes. Staff are responsible for interventions, small groups, and student progress. And now, those roles are being reduced. You

097cannot prioritize literacy while cutting reading support. You cannot say behavior is a priority while removing the teams that respond to it in real time. And these decisions will have real consequences. They will create bigger gaps and more isolation for the students who need the most support in the district, academically and emotionally. The students who rely on these relationships and interventions will be the ones most affected. That is not equi- equity. That is not just about staffing. It is about whether the solutions match the reality. Because right now, they do not. I ask you to reconsider, please, Board of Education, and look closely at what is actually happening in schools every day. Thank you. >> [applause] >> Kirsten Ennis. Technology. >> [laughter] >> I'm Kirsten Ennis. I'm the information specialist at Prairie View school. I was

098hired in 1999 as one of the very first media specialists. Over the past 27 years, I've been proud of the program that the info specialist team has put together and created. We are responsible for teaching several sets of standards. The Illinois computer literacy standards, Illinois computer science standards, International Society of Technology and Education standards, and I sale standards, the Illinois school library program standards. In order to be successful at all of that, the information specialist has to work with the media assistant, or information assistant as our titles change, to develop lessons to meet those daunting standards in the very small amount of time we get to see our students. Our students go to library once a week and a technology class once a week. We're also able to utilize flexible time to help support other

099activities in the classroom. All of our standards are extremely important and directly affect what happens in and outside of the classroom. And we have a hard time prioritizing them all. One very important standard we have is to teach a love of literature. We need to teach our students to love to read and learn how to read. I do not think I need to explain the importance of reading in everyone's life. Reading specialists, reading assistants, information specialists, information assistants, classroom teachers, program assistants, resource teachers, we all want our children to become better readers, better thinkers, and the best person they can possibly be. By making these cuts, we are doing a disservice to our students. You're spending all of this money on all these fabulous new media centers and then cutting the support they provide, weeding

100the library collection down to a third, eliminating story times and activities, eliminating the computer lab for maker space that no one's really particularly in charge of teaching, and cutting people. Little to no value on the people, both staff and students, who use these media centers every day to enhance their teaching and learning. What are we doing for the students, or for the staff, or for the media center? So far, it's been taking things away and cutting things down, all in a space that is going to be brand new. I'm retiring at the end of this year and I really haven't been that happy about it. I've loved my time in D46 until yesterday. Thank you. >> [applause] >> THAT WAS IT? OKAY. ALL RIGHT, THANK YOU, EVERYBODY. Appreciate being able to Did you have an

101additional comment? Yeah, I'm sorry. I didn't know there was a sign-up now. Yeah, go ahead and sign up. Go ahead. Yep. Please. Um hello. My name is Colleen Stancikovich. Um I just wanted to offer a different perspective. Um I am a new parent to the district. My son is in Ms. Cunningham's class. Uh and I just had the conference right before this. >> [laughter] >> Um So, I guess I wanted to offer a non-teacher uh in just district parent perspective. I found out about this meeting at about 4:00 today. Um bad on me, I guess, for not being aware of when the meetings are held. Um I also am not great at public speaking. Um but I just want to say it seems short-sighted to cut positions that you're just starting to see the impact

102on. And when you first notice a positive change is not the time to change the game plan. That's when you follow through on it. And to see to with like SEL, you know, my son's six. He has a habit of not knowing how to control his hands all the time. Like he likes to touch and play and he doesn't always know how to react and having an SEL in class being able to teach interpersonal skills that I can't always be there to teach. Um it's really meaningful as someone who pays a lot of tax money to be in this district specifically is something my husband and I looked for when we bought our house. Um So I just wanted to say that and much much respect to all of you guys here for coming out

103after the game. >> [applause] >> THANK YOU GUYS. >> [applause] >> THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR EVERYBODY FOR SPEAKING tonight to the board and as I mentioned before it's an opportunity for us to deeply listen. So thank you. We appreciate that. We do not have a closed session this evening so I'm going to call for a motion to adjourn this meeting tonight, please. I'll move. Second. Okay. Huenne? Aye. Miller? Aye. Mack? Aye. And Halverson? Aye. Thank you everybody. Thank you once again. Have a good night. I know and I'll remind the students from the high school if you need a picture with us for proof or with the teachers, too. Thank you everybody. Good night.